CONTENTS . 
Amateur's Letter to Amateurs, An . 77 
Aster Lil Fardel .:. 98 
Balsam, The Culture of . 78 
Bean (Dwarf) Webb’s New Supreme 
(illus.) . 85 
Bean (Runner) Tremendous (illus.) .91 
Centaurea margarita chameleon . 79 
Chrysanthemum carinatum Silver 
Queen . 7S 
Competition Awards . 78 
Competition, Prize Letter . 80 
Enquire Within . 92 
Eschscholtzia,. A New . 90 
(Flower Garden, The (illus.) . 88 
‘Fruit Garden, The (illus.) . 88 
Gilia Aggregata . 91 
Greenhouse, The Amateurs . 88 
Kitchen Garden, The (illus.) .. 88 
Melon Eminence (illus.) . 81 
Mulberry, The Culture of (illus.) . 100 
Orchids for Amateurs . 89 
Fea Fidler's Early Perfection . 86 
Roses at Christmas . 78 
Sunflower New Miniature . 89 
Sweet Pea Elsie Herbert (illus.) . 80 
Sweet Pea F. T. Beck (illus.) . 91 
Sweet Pea Mrs. R. M. Shelton (illus.) 93 
Sweet Pea Lord Nelson (illus.) . 83 
Sweet Pea Novelties for 1908 . 81—84 
Sweet Pea Princess Victoria (illus.) ...87 
Sweet Pea Sutton’s Queen (illus.) . 79 
Sweet Peas, Two Beautiful . 86 
Sweet Peas, Vagaries of . 87 
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My garden is not grand, but gay and 
sweet; 
A gladsome, lovesome, and a sun-kissed 
bower 
Wherein doth many a fair and fragrant 
flower 
In joyful fellowship with others meet. 
The Honeysuckle, hanging o’er the seat, 
Sheds her delicious fragrance, hour by 
hour, 
On all around, as when a golden shower 
Refreshes plants that droop beneath the 
heat. 
Ah ! W'ould my heart might be as sweet 
within 
In rosy freshness like this garden mine; 
And w-ould the gentle rain wash out my 
sin, 
So make me like the silver Lily shine; 
Then might I all the threads of life so 
spin 
Into a dream of loveliness divine. 
L. V. in the Westminster Gazette. 
CXXIX. 
Planting Roses. 
November is the ideal month for this, 
but where the work was not done, it can 
be taken in hand during February, which 
is the best of the spring months (it can 
scarcely be called spring, perhaps) for its 
accomplishment, as it gives ample time 
for the bushes to get a good grip of the 
soil before dry weather commences. More 
and more are the Hybrid Teas coming to 
the fore, and they are pre-eminently the 
class of Rose for small and medium gar¬ 
dens, as they produce blossom over a 
long period. As a charming collection 
it w-ould be difficult to beat Mrs. W. J. 
Grant, at one time known as Belle Sie- 
bricht, Mme. Ravary, Caroline Testout, 
Viscountess Folkestone, Marquise Litta, 
De Breuteuil (a capital wet weather Rose, 
as the texture is unusually stout), Reine 
Marie Henriefte, an old-fashioned variety 
but a good one and a profuse bloomer, 
Gladys Harkness, Lady Battersea, a capi¬ 
tal Rose for massing freely, and La 
France. I include General McArthur, be¬ 
cause it is good to the very end of the 
garden year, Madame Abel Chatenay 
has become very popular, and Hugh Dick¬ 
son, which is remarkably fragrant. I do 
not mean to say that these are all of the 
highest type of bloom, but each one has 
been selected for one or more especially 
desirable quality that makes it a valu¬ 
able Rose in the amateur’s garden. We 
v T ant to aim at a good decorative effect 
for as long a period as possible, so that 
often a Rose of inferior type is far more 
valuable and effective than a bush pro¬ 
ducing a few perfectly formed Roses for 
the exhibition table. 
In planting Roses it is well to mass to 
gether several of the same variety, or at 
any rate of similar colouring. Thus, if 
we have a fancy for a number of different 
varieties, say, of a beautiful rose pink 
colour,, then may be massed together with 
fine effect such varieties as Caroline Tes¬ 
tout, La France, Gladys Harkness and 
Mrs. W. J. Grant. 
Now, there is one thing I have re¬ 
peatedly noticed when a novice plants 
Rose trees—in nine cases out of ten he 
is half afraid to prune them when the time 
comes round for the first time. He thinks 
thev may not be sufficiently established, 
or he does not quite know how or when to 
set about it, and the Roses go unpruned. 
This is a great mistake; but let me say 
here that Hybrid Teas require less prun¬ 
ing than the Hybrid Perpetuals, but, also, 
they want more than the Teas. Where 
grov’th is crowded it should be thinned 
out, and the strong growth should be 
moderately cut back, but not severely. 
And now when to prune. This depends 
a great deal on the weather. If open, the 
end of March or early April is soon 
enough. Very weak, useless wood may be 
cut out. 
Weeping Rose Trees. 
These are delightful in a garden. It 
takes time and it takes trouble to train 
a weeping Rose, and one is almost un¬ 
consciously sensible of this in looking at 
it, and the knowledge gives that sense of 
exquisite care and attention that is a great 
charm in a garden. As I write, I am 
thinking more., especially of some pot 
plants of Dorothy Perkins on very long 
stems that I saw last year and beautifully 
trained as weeping specimens. 
Early Seed Sowing. 
Where heat is available early seed sow¬ 
ing of the ordinary bedding half-hardy 
. annuals is highly desirable. Where the 
dwarf blue Lobelia is grown in this way 
it should be sown early ; so also should 
Begonias, Ageratums and others. And 
quite among the early things should the 
seed of Ferns be sown. Seed that is known 
to take a long time to germinate should 
be sown early in the year, before the sun- 
heat helps to evaporate moisture with 
great rapidity, as this means that water¬ 
ing need not be so frequent, and conse¬ 
quently the soil is less likely to turn sour 
on the surface and moss over. I do not 
like a high temperature for subjects that 
do not need it, and propagators in ths 
hands of novices are often far hotter than 
i= necessary or desirable Great heal 
weakens plants, and the little seedlings 
grow lank and weak, and are difficult to 
deal with. 
Sweet Peas. 
It is becoming more and more general, 
I think, to sow the seeds of Sweet Peas 
in pots in the greenhouse and plant out 
later in the year. There is just one Sweet 
Pea that I should like to mention especi¬ 
ally; I mean Enchantress, it_s_ pink is so 
delicate, so dainty, that right well it 
merits its name. It is very beautiful. At 
present I suppose the seed is still not over¬ 
abundant, but I find some few of the-seed 
catalogues include it. In, one case-I find 
it offered in penny packets. 
F. Norfolk. 
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Antirrhinum Sunset. 
The above is a splendid novelty for 
small or large gardens, with fiery orange- 
scarlet flowers, showing themselves up 
from a great distance. It is being offered 
by Messrs. Barr and Sons. Covent Garden, 
London. 
